Steel String Acoustic Guitarmaking Class

Introduction

If you want to learn how to make a flat top acoustic guitar, you’ve come to the right place.

This is not a kit assembly class; this is a make-it-from-scratch class. In this class each student will mill, drill, bend, plane, carve, route, saw, sand and glue in order to turn tonewood, bracewood, bindings, neck blank and purfling into either a Martin-style Dreadnought or OM (Orchestra Model), 14-fret, long scale acoustic guitar in the white.

Don’t be intimidated. Patience, a good eye and steady hand are more important than woodworking experience. You will learn guitarmaking skills while building a guitar. Even as first-time instrument builders, you will make a very respectable guitar.

The goal of the class is to teach you how to make a guitar by making an actual guitar. But for one thing – safety – class is fairly relaxed. Since the teachers are ardent guitarmakers themselves, “instruction” is more aptly put as “sharing what we know”; that is, not only what or how to do a thing, but also what to avoid.

A significant advantage of a live class is that there is someone to show you how to recover from a mishap, should one occur. “It’s wood. We can fix it,” is a class axiom.

A typical class begins with instruction on the building process du jour. Following that is a demonstration of that step, an opportunity to see – and ask questions about – the process just discussed. Then comes shop time; with guidance and coaching as necessary, it is time to put the day’s lesson into action.

Our process in a nutshell is to build the body first. Then the neck. Next, join the two together with a bolt-through floating tenon. Finally, “everything else”; bridge, saddle, nut, tuners and setup.

A guiding principle of this class is to prepare students to make their “next guitar.” Accordingly, this class provides more than just a recipe for “How To Make a Guitar,” it also provides the “Why” that informs the system that we use. In furtherance of the “next guitar” principle, we try to favor budget-friendly building methods suitable for a small/simple shop.

Details

• Tuition is $2,500. A $100 deposit reserves a spot in the class, the remainder is payable in installments.
• Materials are the responsibility of the student. We will provide a list of items needed (see BILL OF MATERIALS below) and sources to get them.
• There are some small tools and consumables that would be useful to have. See SHORT LIST OF SMALL TOOLS below.
• There will be homework. It takes 100 to 120 hours, including instruction, for beginners to make a nice, but relatively unadorned guitar. Since we have 90 hours of scheduled instruction and shop time, some work outside class time will be necessary in order to complete the class on schedule.
• “In the white” is a term-of-art that means without finish. As there are so many finish options and constraints, we will only discuss finishes as part of this class. Finishing – the actual applying of finish – is beyond the scope of this course. That being said, options, pros & cons, suggestions and tips are part of that discussion. We want you to have a completed, finished instrument.

If you have any questions, drop me a line.

—Larry

Contact Instructor to Register

To register for our Steel String Acoustic Guitarmaking Class, please email the instructor, Larry McCutcheon, directly:

[email protected]

Provide your name, and an email address or phone number where you can be reached, and Larry will respond to your inquiry with details on class dates, workshop location, payment schedule, and more.

Meet the Instructor:  Larry McCutcheon

Larry has been building guitars and ukuleles off-and-on for over 20 years.  He studied guitar-building technique with Eric Nichols, SIMSCal’s former guitarmaking instructor and Director of Guitarmaking Operations.  He has taught guitarmaking classes both “from a kit” and “from scratch,” and approaches the subject with an easy-going attitude.  As he puts it, “Teaching is just sharing what you know.”  Larry is a founding member of SIMSCal, and has served in various leadership roles within the club since 2004.

Jake’s guitar

Richard, with a wide range of construction skills, had this to say:

“Larry and Fred are a very able and competent duo. When it comes to teaching this class, their combined knowledge is outstanding. If you have basic carpentry skills and the will to create your own acoustic guitar, this class is for you. The end result was a beautiful looking, great sounding legacy guitar. Thanks again for your patience, experience and professionalism.” – Richard

Richard’s guitar

Russ, a student builder and hobbyist making his second steel string guitar, offered this review:

“This class is a good beginning for anyone interested in guitar building methods, techniques and tool usage. The two instructors, Larry and Fred, were always ready with helpful suggestions as the process of building was underway.” – Russ

Russ’s guitar

Property Loan Agreement